There is nothing new today about Beethoven
symphonies played on “period” instruments. Such orchestras
have the potentially great advantage of approaching these works
from their past and therefore being more alive to what was
new about them. It has also become very obvious that this does
not prevent great differences between performances. Conductors
such as Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Frans
Brüggen all bring very individual approaches, as did their
great predecessors working with “modern” instruments. All
can add to our understanding and enjoyment of the music. There
is always room in the catalogue for new versions that extend
this still further whatever their origin or choice of instruments.

The present recording
combines the talents of Tafelmusik, a Canadian group originally
known in Britain for its very lively and sharply characterized
recordings of baroque music, and Bruno Weil, whose recordings
at first centred on the music of Haydn. Both have excellent
credentials for moving forward to the music of Beethoven, and
so indeed it proves, with wonderfully stylish and uncluttered
performances. Everything sounds natural and uninhibited. The
actual sound of the orchestra is wholly beguiling. The opening
of the slow movement of the 7th symphony is particularly
lovely with wonderfully hushed and virtually vibrato-less playing. The
attraction of the sound is partly a result of the very careful
attention that is given to balance and articulation. The brass
and woodwind players have thoroughly grasped the vital need
for fp when they have the long held or repeated notes
which can so easily obscure melodic lines in the strings or
in a single wind instrument. As a result there is no need
to force those lines. In turn this means that where a more
forceful approach is needed – for instance in the first and
last movements of the 7th symphony – this becomes
all the more telling to the listener. Weil avoids such “traditional” tricks
as the luftpause near the start of the vivace section
of the first movement of that symphony, and generally adopts
a straightforward approach avoiding drawing attention to interpretative
points. This works well, and even if I could not go as far
as the conductor bids by imagining hearing the symphonies
for the first time, I did enjoy the freshness with which the
performers
seemed to approach their task.

Not everything
is perfect. At times the dynamic contrasts required by the
composer do not seem to be present – the ff in the 8th symphony
and even more the fff at the end of the 7th are
perhaps not given their full value. I tried increasing the
volume but this simply robbed the softer passages of their
effect. A less important matter is that the gap between the
3rd and 4th movements of the 7th symphony
is surprisingly long. Usually I regard the gaps between movements
as being better the longer they are, but a short gap here does
much to emphasize the wildness of the last movement and thereby
adds greatly to the impact of the music. This may however
not be a universal view, and it is clear from the DVD that
a long gap is something the conductor makes in concert performance
and that it is not merely an error by the CD producer.

The DVD is a fascinating
but frustrating missed opportunity. It includes a documentary
some 12 minutes long with brief comments by Jeanne Lamon (music
director), Bruno Weil and members of the orchestra together
with brief extracts from rehearsals. Unfortunately the comments
consist mainly of the kind of mutual admiration which is tiresome
and unrevealing. The rehearsal extracts do not answer the kind
of questions the listener may well want answered, such as how
does the relationship between music director and conductor
work (the former sits on a low podium alongside the conductor
and gestures frequently to the string players), and how the
special insights the latter is said to have gained from the
study of manuscripts are imparted to the orchestra. In addition
here and in the four movements from concert performances of
the symphonies the director seems unable to keep
the camera still for more than a moment. Watching the performances
made me feel physically sick at times as we are whirled around
the orchestra to no particular purpose. If only we had been
given time to take in what we are seeing we would enjoy and
learn much more. In addition, all too often we seem to turn
to players who have just finished solos and are putting their
instruments down rather than those who are playing. The conductor’s
manner is generally impassive but some of the players seem
to be trying to make up for this with movements of their own,
which distract the viewer.

The four movements
chosen for the DVD are the first and last of the 8th symphony
and the second and last of the 7th. I can see no
good reason why the whole of one symphony was not included,
which would have been much more satisfying for the viewer. However,
given the somewhat low quality of the film direction of the
DVD, this is perhaps of no great consequence. It is better
to concentrate on the CD and ignore the DVD. On that basis
I can strongly recommend this issue and look forward to the
continuation of their recordings of the Beethoven symphonies
in future issues. They have already recorded the 5th and
6th for Sony.

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